Xiaomi trying to change low-end image in India with expensive models

Xiaomi is set to widen its India product portfolio to include pricier, high-spec smartphones and smart TVs, in a bid to shed its image as a budget brand, Reuters reported citing a senior company executive.

“We are inching up in the entire ASP (average selling price) curve,” Muralikrishnan B, the Chief Operating Officer of Xiaomi‘’s India unit told Reuters. “There is acceptance coming in at the higher end of the price band and in our definition higher end is now 30,000 (rupees).”

With more and more cheaper smartphones in the market from Xiaomi, the brand is now perceived as a cheap brand by many in India.

But Xiaomi has now taken step to change that. It is now launching smartphones priced above ₹20,000 and ₹30,000 in an effort to increase the Average Selling Price (ASP). For instance, the company recently launched the Redmi K20 and Redmi K20 Pro devices in the Indian market, the report said.

Xiaomi smartphones entered the Indian market in 2014, where it has become the leading company, surpassing the dominating South Korea-based Samsung.

The company managed to get the pole position in the Indian smartphone market because of the budget devices. However, the company now wants to shed its image of a “cheap” or budget brand in the Indian market.

Xiaomi is also putting in efforts to increase its presence in the offline market as well. The company has plan to open over 10,000 stores in the country by mid-2020 from over 6,000 stores currently, the report said.